


Stay Out of my Life For Good

by Chaosprincess



Category: The Fosters (TV 2013)
Genre: Be Careful What You Wish For, Gen, Hurt & Comfort, Revenge, Slight Forgiveness
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-20
Updated: 2016-09-20
Packaged: 2018-08-16 04:16:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,075
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8086789
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Chaosprincess/pseuds/Chaosprincess
Summary: Spoilers for late s4. Diverges from canon at s4 ep7. What if Callie granted Jude's wish?





	

**Author's Note:**

> Callie and the writers tend to be a little more forgiving than I am, so please take that into account if Callie seems a bit OOC. I think she would have to be to carry on a grudge this long :) There's a lot of hurt here, but I hope someone out there can enjoy it as much as I did writing it.

"I just need a break," Callie sighed, bringing her knees up to her chest.

"This is about that Aaron guy?" AJ asked, looking far more hurt and dejected than angry.

"No," Callie said, leaving no room for argument. Not that that stopped him.

"You can be real with me."

"No, it's really not. I'm taking a break from dating. It's nothing you did, I swear. You've been perfect. And that's the thing. You've treated me better than any guy I've ever been with, and I can't even appreciate it because of how I rushed into this."

"We can slow it down."

"It's been slowed down. We're like in the Matrix right now," Callie teased.

AJ laughed despite himself.

"I need time to myself... to figure myself out. I need to know how to be alone before I can be with you the way you deserve."

"I get where you're coming from."

"You can see other people if you want. I won't be weird about it, I promise."

"We can be friends."

"You want to hang out without kissing?"

"Yeah. You're cool like that, Callie."

"Thanks," she said, leaning her face against his shoulder.

"So this friends thing.... is it starting now or...?"

"We'll start tomorrow."  
***

"Pass the cornbread?" Jesus asked, already reaching halfway across the table and exposing the food to his armpit hair. 

"A 'please' would be nice," Mariana snarked as she passed the basket.

"Oh sorry, pretty please Princess Mariana?"

"Ugh, who taught you that comeback? A kindergartner?"

"Mariana, Jesus, Knock it off now, please," Stef asked tersely.

"Yes Mama," the twins replied. 

"And Jude's recital is next Friday, so everyone please clear your schedule for that?" 

"I have to photograph the Benson's house Friday," Callie said smoothly, eating a scoop of mashed potatoes. 

"At... seven pm on a Friday?" Lena asked, concerned.

"The Bensons have a busy schedule," Callie brushed off. "Mrs. Benson is a lawyer and her husband is a neonatal surgeon. It's the only time they can squeeze me in."

"With jobs like that, how'd they have time to foster?" Stef asked.

"They didn't. That's why they sent us back almost immediately."

Mariana stirred her peas uncomfortably. Jesus cleared his throat, and Callie could feel the sear of Jude's side-eye on her cheek. He was a blur of pale skin and chippy hair in her peripheral, which was the only way she saw him these days.

"Well, is it possible to leave them out?" Lena suggested. "You've photographed plenty of your old foster homes."

"No. The entire point of my Senior Project is to reflect on _all_ the houses I've been in," Callie said, marveling at how easily she replaced "we've" with "I've". 

"Well, yes, but this is a big moment for Jude. I mean, his first performance in the choir-" if Lena only knew why Jude was on the choir, Callie thought, sipping her grape juice- "-are you sure you want to miss it?"

"You were the one who told me I needed to commit to my project. This is me committing to my project," Callie said with a steel voice, looking Lena in the eyes.

"Callie? Tone," Stef said, although she was unsure of what was going on.

"It's fine," Lena said sharply. "I did say that. Callie will just have to work on her project, sorry Jude."

"It's fine," Jude said in an equally pointed tone. "Callie, can do what she wants."

"Jude...?" Mariana whispered, seeming to be the only person to notice the scowl on the youngest Foster's face.

"I'm fine."

***

"Callie," Stef called as she sped through the kitchen. "Can you drive Jude to the movie theater so he can meet his friends?"

"No, sorry. Aaron is picking me up to go to the help center."

"This isn't about Kyle's case is it? I thought that was settled."

"No, it's not about Kyle. They were actually looking into maybe letting me intern there for this summer."

"Oh, well... this is your last summer before college. Are you sure you want to spend it working?"

"Yeah... I mean, I have to pay extra expenses. Maybe even my own car by sophomore year."

"Okay... well don't accept any offers before we've talked about it with Lena, okay?"

"Okay."

"Alright then, Sweetheart, I love you. Tell Jesus to drive Jude, okay?"

"I will."

The door shut halfway through her reply, and no sooner had it closed than a tall thin figure rounded the corner.

"Liar. Aaron isn't coming to get you."

Callie gave Jude a side-long glance and picked up her phone.

"Hey Aaron! Yeah, can you drive me up to the help center today? Sure, now is good. Thanks. I'll be outside."

She then hung up, glanced at Jude and walked outside to wait on Aaron.

"You think you're hurting me?" Jude snapped at her back as she opened the door. "Cause you aren't-"

She heard Jude's muffled shout continue through the door. She didn't bother parsing out the words.

 

***

Maybe it didn't hurt the first month, or the second, or the third, but by the fourth month, Callie noticed a distinctive wilting in Jude's posture and mood. He kept his eyes down and rarely, if ever, looked her way. It was then that Callie started to feel fairly bad, though now it was easy, almost liberating to not have to worry about Jude. She filled her time with school work, photography, vising her father and sister. She often caught herself thinking of how strange it was that she had refused to live with them because she'd rather be with Jude... 

She worked after school filing papers at the help center and went out with AJ and sometimes Aaron. Now that neither of them were dating her, they actually made good friends. Her life felt so much fuller and happier that sometimes she really did forget about the little boy lurking in the shadows of her home. 

One day, after months of not speaking to one another, Jude approached her in the kitchen.

"I need your help."

She stared at him as if he were a stranger asking for change. 

"Is that supposed to be an apology?" she asked hesitantly. 

"No," Jude said indignantly.

"Then why don't you ask your sister?"

Jude blinked.

"I am?"

"I don't see Mariana anywhere."

"You've got to be kidding-"

"I'm not. Were you? You told me to stay out of your life for good, Jude. Were you kidding?"

"I was high!"

"Exactly, Jude. That's exactly why I did what I did, but it didn't help! You'be been stoned at dinner plenty of times, but I don't care anymore. It's none of my business right?" Callie snapped, each sentence firing off faster than the next. "If you need help, go ask Mariana, or Jesus, or Brandon. You have Two brothers and ONE sister from now on."

"Fine! Then you don't have a brother!"

"I never did!" 

Instant regret. She doubled down on Jude's bluff and now there would be no turning back. Her eyes stung and burned, but she wiped them and inhaled deeply. Where had her sweet baby brother gone? The one that needed her protection and guidance? Whose forehead she would kiss and hand she would hold? He wasn't here. Replaced by this bratty know-it-all teenager, just like everyone else. He was someone else's problem now. Stef and Lena's baby, not hers. 

***

She'd never expected to get a full ride to a four-year college. A combination of the school scholarship and her scholarships for surviving the horrors of Foster Care covered her entire four years. Good, more money for her many other siblings.

Her leaving their home was bittersweet. She was glad to be away from the crowded house and the toxic silence between her and Jude, and really glad to be away from the awkwardness of Brandon and AJ. It just seemed that her absence would smooth things over. But she would miss her mothers, especially Stef. She'd miss Mariana too, and a little of Jesus though they hardly ever spoke. Still, she was excited for what was ahead. She could start fresh, no forbidden relationships or anything.

Over the years, she and Mariana had built up quite a repertoire. Mariana told her when Jude got busted for all the pot. She said the house nearly imploded from all the anger when Jude was caught looking for something "harder". Callie felt a twinge of sympathy for him, but it wasn't as if she hadn't tried to warn him. 

In all her time in college, Callie and Jude never exchanged a private text, though they were all on the family group text. They never called either.

***

_Jude's been in a car crash._

That was the text message that sent Callie's world into a death spiral. Her throat closed up and her legs threatened to give out on her right in the middle of the dining hall. She ditched her tray and ran out, not caring how many heads turned to watch her. 

The dial tone sounded for years. 

"Pick up! PICK UP MARIANA!"

"Callie..." Mariana whispered with a sniffle.

"What happened?"

"I don't know... I'm just getting details myself," Mariana said, voice thick with tears. "They're saying he was drunk or high or something and he hit another car."

"Is he okay?! Is everyone okay?"

"He's in the emergency room," Mariana sobbed. "There was blood everywhere."

"I'm on my way. It'll be okay, Mariana."

Callie wasn't confident she'd survive a drive to the hospital. It was too far away and she was too antsy, too distraught. She might get in an accident herself! She took the emergency funds from her bank and called a cab. The drive took precious hours. Hours spent away from her little brother.

The waiting room was packed. Stef's mom, Lena's parents, Mike, Anna, Brandon, Courtney, the twins...

Stef and Lena were at the center of it all, holding each other and crying. Nearly everyone stood when Callie arrived and Mariana was the first to hug her. Callie felt a stab of jealousy as she realized Mariana was now closer to Jude than anyone else here and Callie felt obligated to comfort her. It was like hugging her past self.

"Shhh, he'll be okay," Callie said in a hoarse voice as the Mama's joined their hug.

For two hours they waited. Mike went out and bought sandwiches to feed everyone. Brandon got coffee for the family when it was getting too late.

The doctor came out looking somber and Callie's heart crumbled to dust. He spoke to the Mama's in some foreign medical language and finished up with "should make a full recovery". The room heaved a collective sigh. Only the Mom's could see him first, that was fine. It was standard. In the meantime, Callie caught up with Brandon, who was reapplying to Julliard and was expecting a child with Courtney. And she spoke to Jesus who would be attending the same college as her next year. Mariana was going to New York, on to bigger and better things before this happened and made her reconsider going so far away from the family. When the Mamas came out, they looked hesitant and uneasy.

"The doctors said he can have one more visitor for the night," Stef said stiffly.

Callie stepped forward.

"He's... asking for Mariana."

There was a stunned silence. Mariana gave Callie an apologetic look, but Callie only saw it from her peripheral. The room was blurry and there were so many eyes on her as she swallowed a sob.

"It's okay, Mariana. If that's what he wants," Callie said quietly.

"I'm sure he wants to see you too..." Mariana said.

"No, its fine. Go," Callie urged, nudging her forward. 

_Be the comforting sister. That's your job now._

***

"I'm not going," Jude said sternly.

The words were as stunning as the Mama's dresses. Each had donned a gold and cream floor-length dress with slightly altered designs.

"Its your sister's wedding," Stef said, incredulous.

"She missed my graduation," Jude fired back.

"She was there! She got there late, so she had to sit somewhere in the back."

"And skipped the reception?"

"She had to be on the plane back to school, love. She had a final exam the next morning."

"She made all that up! Or she scheduled it to conflict! She's been doing it for years!"

"Jude, do you know how ridiculous you sound? You think Callie's been avoiding you for years?" Stef repeated. "Callie loves you, maybe more than any of us can ever know."

"Yes, why would she do that?" Lena asked.

"Because I told her to stay out of my life for good!" 

"Jude!" Stef exclaimed.

"When did you say that?" Lena asked. "And why would you say something that horrible to your sister?"

"I said it when I was in high school. When she found out I was into weed. I told her Noah and I ate some of his medical marijuana gummies and she promised not to tell. Then she told Noah not to do it again in front of his mom and got him in trouble.

"Wait, Callie _knew_ you were doing drugs and didn't tell us?" Stef asked.

"Yeah, but she told Noah's mom and-"

"And you thought that justified you telling her to stay out of your life forever? For God's sake, Jude, she's your sister!" Lena snapped.

"Jude, did you even apologize?" Stef asked, still in shock.

"...No?"

Both Mamas gave a big sigh and rolled their eyes.

"But ever since then she's been pretending I don't exist!"

"And we will talk to her about that, but that's none of your concern. Right now, the only thing you need to do is to put on your suit, AND smile AND figure out how you're going to word your apology to her because you're not missing your sister's wedding and you're not going to continue to tear this family apart over A BOY!"

"But Callie-"

"A BOY THAT YOU BROKE UP WITH YEARS AGO I MIGHT ADD-" Stef shouted.

"Honestly, Jude. We expected so much better from you," Lena huffed, salting the wounds. 

"Get dressed. We're leaving."

****

Callie's hair was being pinned up and she was staring into a mirror. She didn't recognize herself. All her life, she'd never imagined she could look so beautiful. The 24 year old college graduate, soon to be an officer of the law, and the wife of a rather handsome attorney looked back at her. These last few years almost made up for the smoldering ashes of her childhood, but they could never make up for the trauma or the loss of her brother Jude.

From the corner of her eye, she could see Stef creeping in. Her mother's face was worn and somber, but there was still such beauty to it. Callie could only hope to age as well. She couldn't rely on genetics to see her through. Her mother had died so young...

"Callie, sweetheart, can we talk alone?"

"She's done now," the hairdresser said, sticking the final crystal butterfly clip into Callie's hair.

"Thank you," Callie said with a tense smile. "It's so beautiful..."

"Well, so are you," the hairdresser replied, patting Callie's shoulder. "I'll be outside if any curls fall out of place."

The door shut so quietly, Callie wouldn't have noticed if she hadn't been looking in the mirror.

"Jude's not coming, is he?" Callie asked with a quiet and sad smile.

"No, he is. Mama is making him," Stef said all in one breath. "Listen, Callie. Jude told us everything."

"Oh? I didn't really expect him to..."

"Why didn't you tell us, Sweetheart?" Stef asked with a frown. "It must have really hurt you when he said that. After all you two have been through together..."

"Not really. I mean, it did hurt at first. It felt like the end of the world. But after a while, it just became normal. I was actually a lot happier for a while. Now that I didn't feel like I had to raise Jude."

"Yeah, you were pretty happy, and out of trouble for a while... after the Kyle thing. I figured you were just happy he got out of prison and were ready to focus on your own life."

"Well, I did get to focus on my own life, just for a different reason."

"Callie, you shouldn't have let this go on as long as you did. There's teaching a lesson and then there's punishing. You missed out on a lot of important events in Jude's life-"

"But I didn't. Recitals, plays, graduation, I went to all of those. I just pretended not to because he said he didn't want me there."

"Oh..." Stef replied, at a loss for a moment. "Well, you missed out on celebrating with us. And Jude wasn't as happy at any of those things as he could have been, if he knew you'd come anyway. We don't pretend to abandon family just because we're angry, love."

"I understand... I was less happy than I could have been too."

"He's going to apologize today. And you are too, alright? We're going to mend this family."

"Okay."

"Good, now tuck your hair back. You have a wedding to attend."

***

"It's funny," Callie said, scooping another piece of cake onto her plate. "The last time we were at a wedding reception, you told me that I ruin everything for you and I ran away with Wyatt."

"I guess I've always been really harsh on you. You were only trying to protect me, and you did a pretty good job of it before we were adopted."

"Not as good as Stef and Lena."

"No, but the best you could do...and I just couldn't see it."

"Yeah well, you were just being a normal teenager, i guess. And I just couldn't see it. I mean, think about it. Mom's can't just ignore their children after the first time their kids say 'I hate you'. There'd be a lot more foster kids in the world, if that happened."

"You weren't my mom, you were my sister."

"And I needed to learn that."

"I'm sorry I told you to stay out of my life," Jude sighed.

"I'm sorry I wasted so much time staying out of your life."

"I'm sorry I spent so much time listening in on this conversation rather than dancing with that cutie over there."

"Mariana!" Callie and Jude exclaimed together.

"What? It's true."


End file.
